The Deity of Christ - His Names

What we are talking about the names of Christ or will be in our study tonight and for the next Little bit we'll be talking about how the names of Christ Actually, tell us of his deity We're studying about Christ what the Bible teaches about Christ on Wednesday nights and actually we need to back up a little bit from what I just said I appreciate that great song that we just sang on the names of Christ and the fact that one of those names is The Lord of glory. We'll be talking about that name But we need to back up just a little bit this evening and talk some about his pre-existence When we talk about what the Bible teaches about Christ The place to begin is Before Jesus came to this earth with his pre-existence when he when he existed before he came to this earth and he turned it We passed and so we've looked at that for the last couple of weeks and we've talked about what the new Testament teaches about the pre-existence of Christ and We're also have we've looked some of what the Old Testament teaches in the fact that he is actually seen in the Old Testament appears in the Old Testament as The angel of the Lord or remember that's a special Messenger sent from God that is God is called God is worshiped as God and so We have seen that he is identified as the Lord Jesus Christ But there's one other way that Christ appears in the Old Testament at least three times he appears and is called the Lord The first of those is in Genesis 18. So let's open our Bibles there to Genesis chapter 18 You You will find a distinction in your Bible with the way the word Lord appears it appears two different ways in your Bible if all the letters are capitalized In that word as you see on the screen It it is God's name Jehovah or Yahweh in the Old Testament That's the name which is represented in our English versions by capital all all the letters being capital L.O.R.D If you find the word Lord spelled with a capital L and a smaller case O.R.D Then that reflects the Hebrew word Adonai, which is a different name for God Jehovah being his covenant name that he used with Israel and made his covenants with Israel promises to Israel Adonize the more general name for Lord and then the word God is From the Hebrew word Elohim. It's a different name and is the most general name for God So this is the most if you want to say special name of God at least it It communicates the most special relationship with God's people Israel with his covenant making relationship with them and Jesus appears three times in the Bible under that name Let's see how it happens in Genesis 18 Genesis 18 is when the three men appear to Abraham or Abram before Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed and this is the way the story unfolds in the first three verses the Lord See all capital letters there. So Jehovah Appeared to Abraham near the great trees of memory while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby when he saw them He hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed load the ground now notice what's happening here The Bible indicates that the one who is is appearing to Abraham is Jehovah But when Abraham looks out he sees three men Okay, what's going on there? Well the the three men include The Lord Jehovah which we will see later. I believe to be Christ himself But the other two men are angels and they're the two that go on down to Sodom after the Lord stays and talks to Abraham in chapter 18s will see the other two go on down to Sodom and bring the fire and Brimstone down from heaven and get a lot and his family out of out of the city But they appear to Abram as men because that's how they appear they come and they appear in human bodies And so that's why he looks up and sees three men now verse three He said if I have found favor in your eyes My Lord do not pass your servant by You see where he says my Lord and even the L is a smaller case probably Abram does not recognize yet that this is God he just knows this is a visitor and it was very common in the culture of that day to speak to some Some even a vest visitor and a guest to speak very respectfully to that person and the word Lord would be used in the sense of sir You know the Bible says that even Sarah I called Abram Lord Or sir it was a term of respect and so at this point. I don't think Abraham Recognizes that this is God who's appearing to him. He just knows it's it's a visitor It's a guest Hospitality of that day would require you provide something for them to eat maybe a place to stay if they want to stay And so he he bows before them in a respectful gesture and basically says I found favor in your eyes My sir or my Lord do not pass your servant by But something is going to happen which convinces Abraham that this is not just an ordinary man and This is not just an angel if you'll skip down the verse 9 in the story Where is your wife Sarah they asked him they're in the tent he said Then one of them said I will surely return to you about this time next year and Sarah your wife will have a son Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent which was behind him Abraham and Sarah were already very old Sarah was past the age of childbearing so Sarah laughed to herself as she thought after I'm worn out and my Lord is old Well, I now have this pleasure now look at verse 13 then The Lord said to Abraham Why did Sarah laugh and say real? I really have a child now that I'm old Sarah is back in the tent kind of laughs to herself Nobody else heard it except the Lord and And so the Lord now asked so the Lord is one of these three that are with Abraham The Lord says why did Sarah laugh Verse 14 is anything too hard for the Lord I will return To you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son Sarah was afraid so she lied and said I did not laugh, but he said yes You did laugh so he heard her laugh even though it was to herself and He is called the Lord and I think that begins to put a Seed thought in Abrams mind that this is this is God. This is a special visitor. This is not just a man who's come to see him as the story develops The two angels go on down to Sodom and Gomorrah and The Lord stays with Abram look at verse 20 then the Lord said the outcry against Sodom Gomorrah is so great There's since a grievous that I will go down and see if what they've done is what they've done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me If not, I will know the men turned away and went towards Sodom, but Abraham remains standing before the Lord Jehovah Then Abraham approached him and said will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are 50 righteous people and you remember the story of how Abraham talks him down from 50 all the way to 10 Verse 26 the Lord said Look again Verse 30 This is Abraham speaking then he said may the Lord not be angry But let me speak what if only 30 be found here so now Abraham is calling him Lord although he's using the name Adonai Because that's the typical name that the Israelites would use the covenant name was too holy to speak Verse 31 now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord So by now you can sense that Abraham is recognizing and understanding this is a divine visitor. This is the Lord that and I am bold to speak to you Verse 32 may the Lord not be angry and Verse 33 when the Lord had finished speaking he left and Abraham returned home So it's clear that this visitor to Abraham is the Lord Abraham comes to recognize him as the Lord and speaks to him as such but you might be wondering does this Really mean that it was Christ and although it does not refer to Christ in this story Because of all the other instances in the Old Testament either the angel of the Lord or the Lord himself and because Seemed to be Christ and the only person of the Trinity who appears on earth Invisible form before the before the birth of Christ is Christ himself then We assume that this is also Christ although it's not specifically stated It would appear that this divine being is the Son of God come to appear to Abraham before he comes to the earth and his birth Okay, any question about Genesis 18 before we look at Joshua 5 All right Joshua 5 Joshua 5 is where Israel is purchased on the edge of the promised land ready to cross the Jordan the first city they will face will be the city of of Jericho And we'll begin looking at verse 13 chapter 5 verse 13 now when Joshua was near Jericho He looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand Joshua went up to him and asked are you for us or for our enemies? He sees a man with a drawn sword and He's he's up overlooking the city of Jericho and so he's thinking maybe this is a spy from Jericho or Somebody out of the city of Jericho. So I'm ready to do battle So he says are you for us or for our enemies? Verse 14 neither he replied but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come then Joshua fell face down to the ground in Reference and asked him what message does my Lord have for his servant the commander of the Lord's army replied take off your Sandals for the place where you're standing as holy or he's accepting worship From this being who is is the Lord Verse 1 of chapter 6 Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because the Israelites no one went out no one came in then the Lord Said to Joshua see I've delivered Jericho into your hands So this this man that appears to Joshua is the Lord again We would assume it would be The second person of the Trinity Jehovah appearing as as Christ the Son of God One other evidence or our instance in the Old Testament where this the the Lord appears and Christ is evidently appearing in this form Is Isaiah 6 and this one is the most clear Because we have a new Testament commentary on it Isaiah 6 Verses 1 through 5 In the year that King Isaiah died I saw the Lord high and lifted or high and exalted seated on a throne and the train of his temple filled The train of his robe filled the temple above him were syraffine each with six wings with two wings They covered their faces with two they covered their feet with two they were flying and they were calling to one another Holy holy holy is The Lord Almighty the whole earth is full of his glory now notice the Lord is all capitals here Jehovah At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds Shook and the temple was filled with smoke Woe to me I cried I am ruined for I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips and my eyes have seen the King The Lord Almighty Say well again, it doesn't really say it's Christ. How do we know that this one who keeps appearing in a form that people can see as the Lord? How do we know it's Christ? Here's the clue In John chapter 12 and we'll put these verses on the screen for you Notice what John says in John 12 for this reason they could not believe because as Isaiah says elsewhere and he quotes from this very passage Later on in Isaiah chapter 6 in verse 10 and 11 He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts so that they can neither see with their eyes nor understand with their hearts Nor turn and I would heal them now notice what says next Isaiah said this in Isaiah 6 Because he saw Jesus glory and spoke about him So who is this capital L capital O capital R capital D who appears in human form that people can see in the Old Testament It's Jesus It's Christ and we know that it is in Isaiah 6 and we would assume that it would be the same in the other passages as well since it is the Son of God who makes appearance on this earth even before His incarnation so Christ appears as the angel of the Lord and Christ appears as Jehovah as well in the Old Testament Before his coming to earth so that means his pre-existence Okay questions or comments before we start talking about his deity Yes, and here's here's how that works Jehovah is simply the name for God that is used of his special relationship with Israel Now God the Trinity has a special relationship with Israel God the Father God the Son and God the Holy Spirit because they're all three equal They have the same knowledge attributes. They're all three related to Israel in the same way so Jehovah is God the Father but Jesus appears in that covenant making name in the Old Testament too It's not that they are merged into the same person. They both can go by that name Just as they both can go by the name God or Lord They can both go by the name Jehovah Okay, that's a great question. I wonder if someone would ask that Yes, I Has anyone ever seen God the Father? No No, in fact You know Moses asked to see the Lord's glory and God said You can't do that but what I'll do is I'll pass by and you can see the afterglow or the after effects of My glory and then John one of course as no man has seen God at any time but the but Christ the one and only The only begotten son he has declared him or shown him revealed him Yeah, and that would be another reason for recognizing these Old Testament appearances as Christ Although when it when the Bible says that no man has seen God it really means that no man has seen him in his glory in his Absolute brilliance and so even in the Old Testament when when God takes on a human form He is valing himself so that we can see him Yeah, Trevor John saw Christ Chapter one he sees Christ Chapter five he sees him as the lamb Chapter 19 he sees him coming back. He sees Christ Yes in chapter five he did Now if if John is transported to heaven to see God the Father either God appears in a human form that he can he can demonstrate himself to John Let me take a look at that more carefully to make sure that it actually says that God himself appears Okay Okay, chapter four he's worshiping the Lord God who created all things Vert chapter five verse one. I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne I scroll with writing on both sides and seal of seven scrolls. I saw mighty angel proclaiming a loud voice Who is worthy to break the seal One of the elders said do not weep see the lion the tribe of Judah the root of David is triumph He's able to open the scroll. I saw a lamb looking at a slain standing in center of the earth He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne So the one who sits on the throne must be God the Father Now the only way I think we can explain that that John saw if he did see God the Father on the throne and Christ as the lamb The only way that can be explained is that in heaven. I believe we will be able to see God the Father because Revelation 21 and 22 talk about the fact that God himself will be with us And we will see him and communicate with him That's if that's indeed what is happening there John is evidently Enabled to see God the Father as if he were already in glorified body in heaven That's that's different That's different because the scene is in heaven and not here on earth Okay, good good point He think else and he had a question All right, let's turn our attention next to the deity of Christ and I want to introduce this Before we jump into the different proofs of Christ's deity I want to make sure that we all understand what we're talking about by deity We're not talking about deity like the liberals talk about deity the liberals talk about the the vanity of Christ And when the liberals and by the way liberalism is A form of teaching that denies most of the basic truths of the Bible They'll talk about the Bible they'll talk about Jesus. They'll talk about salvation But don't mean the same thing we mean by it all The liberals basically who swept into this country in the 19 teens and 20s And really took over most of the major denominations In in our country they will speak of the divinity of Christ But what they mean by that is that there is a Divinity in Christ like there is in everybody a spark of goodness It was more pronounced in Christ than anyone else But they're basically saying he is a man who had was a good maybe even a perfect man But they would vigorously deny his deity like we're talking about So I want to make sure that we understand when we say the deity of Christ We're not talking about he's he has divinity or he's perfect he's a perfect man We're talking about he is God in the highest sense that he has the very nature The very same nature as God the Father That's what we mean when we talk about the deity of Christ Okay, so we're not talking about some spark of divinity or goodness or even perfection Perfect man. We're talking about he has the very same nature as God the Father That's the deity of Christ It is one of the most crucial topics in Bible doctrine It is at the very heart of our faith that Jesus is not just a man, but he is also God He is both in one person We would go We would not even want to say that Jesus is the best man who ever lived at least we wouldn't want to stop there We would say that but we wouldn't want to stop there Because Jesus is much more than the best man That Ever lived there are many who would admit Jesus is a good teacher and a good man Muslims would admit that All cults would admit that But as we saw Sunday morning We believe that Jesus is much more than that for you see liberal theologians would say that Jesus was a good man and a good teacher He used to be respected and revered like Gandhi is Gandhi was a good man and a good teacher too and he should be well respected because of his beliefs and Liberals would say that's how Jesus is to be respected. We're saying a lot more than that We're saying that Jesus is not Gandhi We're saying that Jesus is on an entirely different level. He is the same nature as God the Father So he is God in the fullest sense of the word and since this is at the very heart of our faith We're going to take a little time on this We're going to take some time on the deity of Christ because it is It is so foundational and it is found so many ways In the Bible in fact there are many proofs of the deity of Christ in the Bible not just a few little proof texts But a lot of proofs there is overwhelming evidence throughout the New Testament and because this is at the heart of Satan's attack on our faith Every major world religion and every major cult denies this doctrine Okay, because it is at the heart of Satan's attack We need to be grounded firmly in this truth In the day in which we live we need to be firmly grounded in this truth of the deity of Christ So we're going to see how it is proven in the Bible from a number of different ways in a number of different ways first of all by his names And we'll take a couple maybe three weeks on that alone Secondly by his attributes Thirdly by his works Fourthly by his worship fifthly by his own claims and sixthly by indirect testimony of the Bible will get what that means later So we're going to take a little time on this one and very patiently Systematically methodically bring together all the biblical information on the deity of Christ and it is overwhelming It is overwhelming and it's clarity Okay, we'll begin with his names the very names of Christ prove that he is God And the first name that we will see is that he is called God He is clearly called God we're going to look at seven passages where he is clearly called God tonight John chapter one and verse one is the first one So First we've looked at before because it also deals with his pre-existence In the beginning was the word that's the pre-existence in the beginning he was already existing He was already there was the word and the word was with God that separates him from God as far as person Who is concerned? He's not identical with God the Father They're separate persons he was with him face to face with him And then the last expression says and the word was God he's not the same person as God the Father There's the Trinity God the Father God the Son God the Holy Spirit not the same person But he is God he has the same nature Now if if I could I want to take a few moments to Explain something that is It's not the kind of thing that you'll learn in Sunday school. It's not real simple But I want to explain it because It goes against what the Jehovah's Witnesses teach if you have a Jehovah's Witness come to your door They will try to get you to this verse and they will show in their version of the Bible Where it says something like this in the beginning was the word the words with God and the word was a God Small letter G the word was a God And they will try to convince you that that's what the Greek says the Greek is the original language in which the New Testament was written And they will try to prove to you and tell you that there is no definite article There's no V In here so whenever and here's a rule of Greek whenever there is no definite article That means that you could take the noun as indefinite and put a rather than the in front of it In other words the word was it doesn't say the God And so they say because of that it means the word was a God now For the untrained Christian that can be a convincing argument and it is an argument that is confused a lot of people But here's the problem That is not the only way that the lack of the indefinite article is or definite article is supposed to be understood in the New Testament If if you really study the Greek language Every Greek grammar first year Greek grammar would tell you that the lack of the article can be interpreted in two ways it may mean that it's A stone a rock a tree a God if it doesn't have the definite article But a second way in which it can be understood is in what's called a qualitative sense So it's not saying he was a God but it's saying he was God In quality in nature in essence he had the quality of God he had the nature of God He was God in his nature And that is quite clearly the way this should be understood because the rest of the text makes it clear that Jesus is God He will call him that again in verse 14 and in verse 18 So he's not denying the deity of Christ in verse 1 He's just using God without the article to mean he was God in nature in essence qualitatively he was divine That's what the lack of the definite article means contrary to what the Jehovah's Witnesses teach And they will try to prove to you that because we know Greek Well, they don't know Greek because they're only given you one of two options and the context makes it clear The second option is the one that's to be preferred that The lack of the definite article means that he was divine in nature And if you're going to show that he was divine he was God but not the same as God the Father Distinct in person, but in the same nature This is exactly the way you'd want to say it. This is the perfect way to say it Don't use the article. He was not the God He was not the God that would just spoke of God the Father But he was divine in nature. He was God in nature If that's what you want to communicate then you would say it exactly like John did in the original language And so it's important for us to understand simply because That false cult will try to trick you with an with an illegitimate use of Greek It's important to understand what they're saying is not true You know for for those of us who have never studied Greek and we hear somebody using that kind of terminology Oh, wow, they must know what they're talking about No, they're purposely twisting What was said so don't swallow that kind of lie John is clearly saying in chapter one and verse one In the beginning was the word he pre-existed he was already there in the beginning He was with God the Father face to face with him So he was a separate person But he had a divine nature the same as God the Father he was God And so that's why the Bible translates it with the word God he was God He was God Okay, any questions about that before we move to verse 18 Okay Look at verse 18 No one has ever seen God But the one and only son Who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father Has made him known Now if you have a King James version it says I don't have it in front of me, but trying to remember it by um memory No one has seen God but the only begotten son or the only begotten of the Father I think it says doesn't Something like that who has King James Pardon me No, but Does it say the only begotten of the Father or the only begotten Verse 18 Okay Okay Okay, the King James has the only begotten son The earliest Greek texts and we've talked about this before we talked about the doctrine of the Bible the earliest Greek manuscripts have the only begotten God A clear reference to Christ no monocene God, but the only begotten God Who is Christ Is in relationship with the Father has made him known now that's the reason why the NIV translates it God the one and only That's the 18 1984 edition of the NIV the the ESV English Standard Version translates it the only God The version of the NIV I'm using the the 2011 version says The one and only son who is himself God and that's probably the clearest statement of all of Christ's deity It takes into account both ways to translate it the one and only son or the only begotten son who is himself God Okay, I've I've heard this for many years by people who are King James only advocates That the NIV takes away from the deity of Christ and doesn't show that Christ is God Well, here's an instance where the NIV shows it more clearly than the King James the King James translates only begotten son The NIV going back to earlier Greek manuscripts makes it clear that this is God The only God God the one and only the one and only son who is himself God Okay, the NIV makes it clear that Christ is God And that's the best way to translate that verse clear statement that Christ is God All right, John 20 verse 28 another passage This is Thomas when he sees Jesus a week after the resurrection remember he was not there on the first Of the day of the resurrection the first Sunday But he was there the next week he had expressed doubt And that's I see the nail marks in his hands put my finger where the nails were put my hand into his side I will not believe he said in verse 25 verse 26 a week later the disciples were in the house again Thomas was with them this time Jesus appears and look at verse 28 Thomas said to him my Lord and my God Clearly proclaims Jesus as God and he is not corrected Jesus did not say that's an inappropriate use of that title. I'm not God no Jesus accepted that title Thomas very clearly Testifies to him as God Look at Romans chapter 9 and verse 5 Romans chapter 9 and verse 5 You Speaking of the unique privileges that the nation of Israel had in their relationship with God he says in verse 5 There's are the patriarchs and from them from the Jews is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah or of Christ Who is God over all forever praised? Amen So Christ or the Messiah is God overall clear statement again of Christ's deity look at Titus 213 Just continue flipping through your New Testament to first second Timothy in Titus Titus 213 While we wait for the blessed hope the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ Okay Jesus Christ is our great God and Savior Not two separate persons here, but one person who is both God and Savior Jesus Christ Okay, by the way, that's another Construction in the original language which is misinterpreted mis translated by the King James It's it's the called the Granville Sharp rule whenever you have a noun The word and or Kai and another noun The first noun has the article the second doesn't the second noun further describes the first Now the second noun further describes the first in the King James says our great God and our Savior Something like that two separate persons and the NIV has understood the Granville Sharp rule that the King James Translators didn't get they understood that that rule in the New Testament always when you find that construction the second noun Is the same as the first it's our great God and Savior not two separate persons not great God and our Savior But great God and Savior or great God even our Savior Jesus Christ again the NIV more clearly states the deity of Christ That even the King James does in this verse Titus 2 13 clear statement of the deity of Christ he bruise 1 8 He bruise 1 8 Quote from the Old Testament But about the Sun he says your throne Old God will last forever and ever a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom quoting from Psalm 45 The writer of Hebrews makes it clear this quote is about our God and is it about it's about the Sun regarding the Sun He says you're throwing old God Okay, then one more first John 5 20 First John 5 20 We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ He is the true God and eternal life who is the true God and eternal life his son Jesus Christ Is the true God and eternal life Okay questions comments about statements in the New Testament these Seven at least that clearly Refer to Jesus Christ as God Okay Here's here's a bit of a problem or at least a question And it's this Are not angels and men also referred to as gods in the Bible small G and they are a couple of places um Psalm 97 seven I think we have this one for you on the screen all who worship images are put the shame those who boast and idols worship him all you gods and look at he but Hebrews 1 6 um is Referring back to that and again when God brings his first one to the world He says let all gods angels worship him Hebrews interprets the passage in Psalm 97 which Is it's quoting and says that's talking about angels They're referred to as gods little G but they really are angels Okay, so there is a passage where the word gods Elohim is used of angels there's also a passage in the Old Testament where men are referred to as gods I think we'll have this on the screen for you to Psalm 82 versus 1 and 6 God presides in the great assembly he renders judgment among the gods notice the quotation marks small G I said you are gods you are all sons of the most high in John chapter 10 Jesus refers to this passage Jesus answered them is it not written in your law? I have said you are gods If he called them gods to whom the word of God came and scripture cannot be set aside What about the one to whom the father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said I am God's son Now because there is one passage that refers to angels as gods and one passage it refers to men actually the men in Psalm 82 are judges Because they're referred to as gods that has caused some people to say well People are referred to as gods. So if that title is used of Christ. It doesn't really mean anything does it? Well, yes, it does It's clear in both of those passages that the Bible is talking about first of all angels and then secondly men who are judges They are called gods because they are small G because they are special representatives or messengers of God That is not at all the same thing as Christ himself being called God It's not the same thing at all big G little G big difference in fact Satan is referred to as a god Look at this passage in second Corinthians 4.4 the god of this age Have blinded the minds of of unbelievers that's talking about Satan Satan is called the god of this age So just because the word god little G is used of someone else does not equate to the same thing of Christ being called God in the fullest sense of that word Don't confuse the use of those terms Okay, god little G can sometimes simply mean a ruler or a special being maybe a judge Maybe Satan himself can be an angel But that's not the same as directly calling Jesus God and worshipping him as God that's different different That may be I'm not real sure if the Mormons use that verse to indicate Well, I know they do, but I don't know if they use that verse or not Yeah Mormons believe that we were gods before we were born and that we will be gods in eternity future But I'm not sure if they use that verse they may They do use that verse. Okay, all right Good thanks Barry you've just been through a study of cults and false religions in your small group you would know Okay, very good thanks You It's actually the word Elohim which is the word it which isn't a name for God But it's also a title just like Lord you know Lord is a name for God But Lord is also a title which means sir depending on the context in which it used well that that word is Elohim Which is a title for God, but it's also a word which is used of judges or angels or just some special figure some figure of authority So that's the reason why it gets a little confusing Okay Jesus is called God in a unique sense it is clear in the passages where he is called God He is being referred to as deity not just an authoritative figure like an angel or a judge But he's being called God in the sense of full-blown deity because he is worshiped as God. He does what only God can do and so forth Okay, before we get into the next Title we're gonna go and stop because we've only got a couple minutes and And I don't want to start introducing the next title which is the Son of God. We'll get to that next time All right, let's bow in prayer Father, thank you for The opportunity to study about our great God and Savior Jesus Christ Thank you father that we can adore him and love him as we do you Because you are one and the same And we thank you that your word is very clear as to who he is we're not left to wonder or be confused But the Bible is abundantly clear that he is Equal to you in nature May we worship him as such we pray in his name amen